Notre Dame Unranked in Both Polls

The new AP and USA Today polls are out and there will always be a few teams who complain about not being ranked. However, there are several cases for a few teams who have proven to be consistent ranked teams as of late.

The AP and USA Today have nearly complete different rankings, however I have some beef on a few teams that are still ranked. 

I break down five teams who should be in and five teams that have no business being ranked in the recent polls.

Notre Dame Unranked in Both Polls

Notre Dame is unranked in both polls and why? Notre Dame beat up a solid Michigan State team and yet they are not even ranked 25th?

I would sneak the Irish into my Top 20.

Yet, both of these polls are not drinking the Irish kool-aide.

Cierre Wood is running bonkers and the offense of Notre Dame has totaled for over 400 yards against every team but Michigan State.

Notre Dame is going to be favored in every game up until their finale against Stanford. If they can get to nine wins there is a great chance they reach a BCS Bowl.

Houston No. 21 in AP and No. 20 in USA Today

Why are the Cougars ranked? They have played nobody relevant in college football and until they get to 9-0, I would not rank them. 

The Cougars defense was a joke against UTEP and they have not impressed me enough to put them over Notre Dame.

If the Cougars were to go 13-0 then I will gladly eat crow and put the Cougars in my Top 15.

Until that comes close to happening, I am not going to put a team up there that could not beat Baylor in my eyes.

Penn State No. 22 USA Today, Unranked in AP

How is Penn State not ranked in the AP Poll?

The BCS has them at No. 21 which just goes to show that the AP Poll is pointless since it has no factor into the BCS.

The Nittany Lions have a few big games ahead of them. They will jump way up in all the rankings if they can find ways to knock either Michigan, Nebraska and or Illinois.

No. 24 Arizona State Both Polls

The Sun Devils had a chance to make their mark against an Oregon Ducks team that was missing all of their superstars.

Let's face it. Without LaMichael James or Darron Thomas, this offense is not as great it could be.

Yet, the Ducks still gashed ASU for over 300 yards in the game just on the ground.

ASU's offense struggled miserably in the second half and you have to put some blame on the receivers of the Sun Devils.

They torched the Ducks secondary in the first half, but they were outmuscled in the second half.

If they want to ever get my vote they better get a few more victories in a row. Luckily, their schedule is easier than arguably any ranked team and in time they will get their love.

Georgia No. 24 in AP Poll, Unranked in USA Today

Why is Georgia not ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll? Why! They have not come close to losing since going 0-2.

Sure, Vandy gave them a solid game, but they also scored on a gimmick touchdown as well as a huge kick-off return touchdown. 

Aaron Murray is a stud and he has a young freshman in the backfield who is a future star in Isiah Crowell.

Crowell could have been in the doghouse some say since he did not play a ton, but the Bulldogs have been impressive the past month.

They made the Tennessee Volunteers go backwards and have since knocked off decent Vandy and Mississippi State teams.

They get Florida in a few weeks and eventually get Georgia Tech when the season comes to a close, however don't be shocked if UGA plays in the SEC Championship.

They have to be considered the favorites right now.

What kills is that this is the same Bulldogs team that lost to No. 12 South Carolina.

Maybe those two losses really killed this Bulldogs since Notre Dame is not ranked either. In time, Georgia better be ranked or else I may start to smell a fraud of a poll.

Illinois No. 23 in AP Poll, No. 21 in USA Today

Maybe I missed something, but it is nearly impossible to lose a game when you give up just one completed pass.

Right?

I mean how did the Buckeyes kick the teeth in of the Illini so easily?

Illinois only gave up 228 yards, but they coughed it up three times on offense and Nathan Scheelhaase played like Chicago Bear quarterbacks.

Plus, if the Illini were to get held under 120 yards rushing they may not win, ever. Their bread and butter is their running attack and when it is not working the entire offense just falls apart. 

Purdue comes calling in West Lafayette next weekend before a road trip to Happy Valley.

A loss there and Illinois may be knocked down for the count with the Badgers and Wolverines high octane offense coming to Champagne. 

USC Unranked in Both Polls

Note: I understand they are inelgible to be ranked, but out of principle I want the best 25 teams ranked, take a look at the latest BCS rankings and you will likely find them in the top 25 by all the voters

Despite getting smoked by Arizona State a few weeks ago by three touchdowns, I would still put USC ahead of ASU.

That night was a fluke. Matt Barkley had two interceptions, one of which was returned for a late garbage touchdown to make the score a lot worse than it was.

Just look at the stats and the eye ball test. USC had more total yards as the turnover bug bit them badly that night. USC has outplayed ASU badly since that miserable night. 

Scoring 78 points is pretty good the last time I checked and USC offense has been in high gears ever since. Now if USC were to get crushed by Notre Dame next weekend then they have no excuse at not being ranked.

However, the Sun Devils have wet the bed on several occasions this season. Losing on the road to an mediocre ranked Illini team was rough, but getting gashed for four quarters against the Ducks backup's might be worse.

This is a what have you done for me lately sport and the boys from Tempe are not cutting it. At least USC beat the snot out of Cal on the road and is catching fire.

No. 19 Georgia Tech in USA Today, No. 20 in AP

I understand the Yellow Jackets were just ranked outside the top ten, but they looked worse than Virginia. Hence losing the game, but they had no answer all game long for Perry Jones (149 yards rushing).

Despite rushing for 272 yards, it was not nearly enough. Tevin Washington could not find his best target in Stephen Hill and it sent football back nearly ten years.

Don't even talk to me about being a relevant team when you can't complete a forward pass. GT's offense is the option all game, but if they can't run for 300 yards they are almost useless.

The ACC schedule does not help much so the Jackets better bury Virginia Tech at home when they get the chance in a few weeks.

I do not believe the second best team in the Coastal Division is Top 25 worthy, so GT needs to buck up to get my vote.

Cincinnati Unranked in Both Polls

I completely understand that losing to Tennessee by 22 points does not look good at the moment, but Tyler Bray was threading the needle early on in the season. 

The Bearcats have been torching teams ever since at 5-1. What else do they need to do to get ranked?

Maybe most don't watch the Big East since it is bad at times, but Cincy has in the flow for the month of October.

Zach Collaros has been magnificent with Isiah Pead going bonkers in the backfield. He already has six touchdowns along with 624 yards rushing. 

Plus you would after smoking NCST by four touchdown that the pollsters would notice.

I guess playing in the Big East really does not even count as a BCS conference these days.

In time, the Bearcats could sneak around and reach a BCS Bowl by winning their conference.

Don't say you were not warned!

Auburn No. 19 in AP Poll, No. 23 in USA Today

I know this may not seem right but if Auburn gets smoked by LSU, how bad will it make the voters look?

LSU might be the best team in America, but if they lose by three touchdowns then I am not sure they have any business being ranked.

Auburn has been through some injuries at receiver and I have noticed how well they are playing at the moment.

However, they were smoked by Arkansas and beat a Gators squad that is just awful right now. 

Florida can't catch a punt let alone throw the ball and complete a pass. Without Jeff Demps the Gators is pretty much the worst in the SEC East (Save UK).

Auburn's only two losses were to a pair of top ten teams, but it was not like they competed in those games. They lost by a combined scores of 76-38!

That according to my math is a 2:1 ratio which is nothing positive.

Auburn has dominated and knocked off who they were expected to beat. Until they prove to beat another legit team (South Carolina counts) I can't consider them a legit Top 25 team at the moment.